Complication Rates Cost Australia’s Health System $4bn a Year

By Martina Dolan on August 20, 2018

Australia’s health system would save about $1.5bn a year if all hospitals became as safe for patients as the top 10%, a Grattan Institute report has found, writes The Guardian. The report, Safer Care Saves Money, found one in nine hospital patients suffered a complication, costing public hospitals more than $4bn a year and private hospitals more than $1bn a year. The authors argue that instead of financial incentives to reduce complication rates, hospitals need better information about curbing and avoiding complications such as hospital-acquired infections, adverse events and medication errors. Complication rates and accreditation outcomes should be made public, the authors said. The report said the current system of hospital accreditation did not improve patient outcomes.